49 research outputs found
Compressive Sensing for Spectroscopy and Polarimetry
We demonstrate through numerical simulations with real data the feasibility
of using compressive sensing techniques for the acquisition of
spectro-polarimetric data. This allows us to combine the measurement and the
compression process into one consistent framework. Signals are recovered thanks
to a sparse reconstruction scheme from projections of the signal of interest
onto appropriately chosen vectors, typically noise-like vectors. The
compressibility properties of spectral lines are analyzed in detail. The
results shown in this paper demonstrate that, thanks to the compressibility
properties of spectral lines, it is feasible to reconstruct the signals using
only a small fraction of the information that is measured nowadays. We
investigate in depth the quality of the reconstruction as a function of the
amount of data measured and the influence of noise. This change of paradigm
also allows us to define new instrumental strategies and to propose
modifications to existing instruments in order to take advantage of compressive
sensing techniques.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Image Reconstruction with Analytical Point Spread Functions
The image degradation produced by atmospheric turbulence and optical
aberrations is usually alleviated using post-facto image reconstruction
techniques, even when observing with adaptive optics systems. These techniques
rely on the development of the wavefront using Zernike functions and the
non-linear optimization of a certain metric. The resulting optimization
procedure is computationally heavy. Our aim is to alleviate this
computationally burden. To this aim, we generalize the recently developed
extended Zernike-Nijboer theory to carry out the analytical integration of the
Fresnel integral and present a natural basis set for the development of the
point spread function in case the wavefront is described using Zernike
functions. We present a linear expansion of the point spread function in terms
of analytic functions which, additionally, takes defocusing into account in a
natural way. This expansion is used to develop a very fast phase-diversity
reconstruction technique which is demonstrated through some applications. This
suggest that the linear expansion of the point spread function can be applied
to accelerate other reconstruction techniques in use presently and based on
blind deconvolution.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Near-IR internetwork spectro-polarimetry at different heliocentric angles
The analysis of near infrared spectropolarimetric data at the internetwork at
different regions on the solar surface could offer constraints to reject
current modeling of these quiet areas.
We present spectro-polarimetric observations of very quiet regions for
different values of the heliocentric angle for the Fe I lines at 1.56 micron,
from disc centre to positions close to the limb. The spatial resolution of the
data is 0.7-1". We analyze direct observable properties of the Stokes profiles
as the amplitude of circular and linear polarization as well as the total
degree of polarization. Also the area and amplitude asymmetries are studied.
We do not find any significant variation of the properties of the
polarimetric signals with the heliocentric angle. This means that the magnetism
of the solar internetwork remains the same regardless of the position on the
solar disc. This observational fact discards the possibility of modeling the
internetwork as a Network-like scenario. The magnetic elements of internetwork
areas seem to be isotropically distributed when observed at our spatial
resolution.Comment: Sorry, this is the version with the correct bibliography. Some
figures had to be compressed. Accepted for publication in A&
Propagating Waves Transverse to the Magnetic Field in a Solar Prominence
We report an unusual set of observations of waves in a large prominence
pillar which consist of pulses propagating perpendicular to the prominence
magnetic field. We observe a huge quiescent prominence with the Solar Dynamics
Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) in EUV on 2012 October 10
and only a part of it, the pillar, which is a foot or barb of the prominence,
with the Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) (in Ca II and H\alpha lines), Sac
Peak (in H\alpha, H\beta\ and Na-D lines), THEMIS ("T\'elescope
H\'eliographique pour l' Etude du Magn\'etisme et des Instabilit\'es Solaires")
with the MTR (MulTi-Raies) spectropolarimeter (in He D_3 line). The THEMIS/MTR
data indicates that the magnetic field in the pillar is essentially horizontal
and the observations in the optical domain show a large number of horizontally
aligned features on a much smaller scale than the pillar as a whole. The data
is consistent with a model of cool prominence plasma trapped in the dips of
horizontal field lines. The SOT and Sac Peak data over the 4 hour observing
period show vertical oscillations appearing as wave pulses. These pulses, which
include a Doppler signature, move vertically, perpendicular to the field
direction, along thin quasi-vertical columns in the much broader pillar. The
pulses have a velocity of propagation of about 10 km/s, a period about 300 sec,
and a wavelength around 2000 km. We interpret these waves in terms of fast
magneto-sonic waves and discuss possible wave drivers.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Detection of ultra-weak magnetic fields in Am stars: beta UMa and theta Leo
An extremely weak circularly polarized signature was recently discovered in
spectral lines of the chemically peculiar Am star Sirius A. A weak surface
magnetic field was proposed to account for the observed polarized signal, but
the shape of the phase-averaged signature, dominated by a prominent positive
lobe, is not expected in the standard theory of the Zeeman effect. We aim at
verifying the presence of weak circularly polarized signatures in two other
bright Am stars, beta UMa and theta Leo, and investigating the physical origin
of Sirius-like polarized signals further. We present here a set of deep
spectropolarimetric observations of beta UMa and theta Leo, observed with the
NARVAL spectropolarimeter. We analyzed all spectra with the Least Squares
Deconvolution multiline procedure. To improve the signal-to-noise ratio and
detect extremely weak signatures in Stokes V profiles, we co-added all
available spectra of each star (around 150 observations each time). Finally, we
ran several tests to evaluate whether the detected signatures are consistent
with the behavior expected from the Zeeman effect. The line profiles of the two
stars display circularly polarized signatures similar in shape and amplitude to
the observations previously gathered for Sirius A. Our series of tests brings
further evidence of a magnetic origin of the recorded signal. These new
detections suggest that very weak magnetic fields may well be present in the
photospheres of a significant fraction of intermediate-mass stars. The strongly
asymmetric Zeeman signatures measured so far in Am stars (featuring a dominant
single-sign lobe) are not expected in the standard theory of the Zeeman effect
and may be linked to sharp vertical gradients in photospheric velocities and
magnetic field strengths